"No evidence" NDP tainted by union ads

By JENNIFER DITCHBURN The Canadian PressPublished October 5, 2011 - 4:53am

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OTTAWA — The chief electoral officer says tens of thousands of dollars worth of union sponsorships at the NDP’s last convention have raised questions and he’s referred the matter to the commissioner of elections for investigation.

But Marc Mayrand said Tuesday the issue of advertising, sponsorships and political parties is complicated, and he’s seen no evidence yet on the complaint lodged by the Conservatives.

"The only thing I’ve seen so far is a letter from the party making some allegations about possible illegal contributions," Mayrand told a Commons committee Tuesday.

"There’s no evidence with it."

The Conservative party sent a letter to Elections Canada in the summer, raising concerns that the NDP might have accepted illegal contributions by allowing unions to sponsor events at their June convention. The Tories included photos of some of the signage at the event.

One of the events that carried union sponsorship was a dinner featuring the late NDP leader Jack Layton and Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter. The sign for the event included the symbol of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

A flyer for a $300-a-ticket "intimate reception" with Layton featured the logo of the United Steelworkers union.

Le Devoir newspaper reported last month that the NDP took in an estimated $160,000 from the unions for sponsorship or advertising during the convention, according to figures provided by some of those organizations.

Mayrand said that such advertising is acceptable provided the unions or corporations are trying to reach a legitimate market, and that they are paying fair market value for the ads.

"If the amount received is greater than the value of any service provided, then a contribution will have occurred," he said. "Determinations regarding the existence of a market and fair market value of a good and service are essentially questions of fact that involve careful consideration of all the circumstances of a particular transaction."

Dean Del Mastro, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, said it’s obvious to him that the unions paid far more than market value.

"My contention is that you could buy an advertisement during the Super Bowl, you could buy an advertisement during the Stanley Cup playoffs Game 7 for what some of these folks paid to be on the sign boards at the NDP convention," Del Mastro said.

"I think there were maybe 600 or 700 people there."

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